Chapter 1 - Part 1
The faint echo of water gently falling onto a puddle was the only sound audible in the dank and musky cellar. However, it was enough to rouse the overall-laden plumber from his nap. “Luigi!?” he called out into the darkness, still lying flat on his back. No answer. He rubbed his eyes in hopes of better vision, as they had not yet adjusted to his gloomy surroundings. As he lifted himself into a sitting position, he fumbled for the flashlight he remembered using before dozing off in Princess Peach’s bathroom. It wasn’t enough that Mario had rescued the Princess from the evil Bowser and then took her for his wife. No, the plumber found himself still on a quest for the Princess, however this time it was for a working bidet. Not finding his flashlight, Mario straightened his dark moustache and went to adjust his cap, when he realized it was not upon his head. He figured it must have simply fallen off, so he began to feel around for it. However, as he turned to his left he bumped his head on something hard. Frustrated at this point he shouted, “Luigi!? Where-a are you? Turn on-a the god damn light in here! Who the hell-a asked you to turn it off-a, anyway? We were in the middl…” Mario quit shouting at that moment, for he had just realized, as his eyes adjusted, that he had bumped into a chair. Peach had no chairs in her bathroom, and this one sat under a dusty old wooden desk… which again is foreign to the bathroom Mario knows. He slowly rose to his feet, glancing at the room he thought to be his wife’s bathroom. Upon the desk sat a candle, its wick near the end of its journey. The room itself was barren, save for dust and spider webs. On the south end of the room was a door, the faintest glimmer of light protruding from the small gap between the door and the floor. Mario thought for certain he was taken captive in his sleep, yet it was an ordinary door with no locks, nothing made sense. On the north end of the room was a small crevice, it looked as if it was built as a small storage area. It was the only part of the room not illuminated by the remnants of what was a candle. Mario started for the door, telling himself that he’ll figure this out as soon as he gets out of here. He reached for the knob, praying his initial theory of confinement false and for the door to be unlocked. The knob gave, and he began to swing the door open when he heard something move within the crevice. “Who’s-a there?” he questioned the darkness as he spun around. The silence was uneasy. Mario had nothing to help him. His tool belt was missing, and he had no power-ups. Mario decided it best to leave the noise as just that, and get out of wherever he was at. He swung the door fully open and peered out into the expanse of a long, dimly-lit hallway that ran into darkness in both directions. The outlines of door frames lined the hallway on both sides, and torches were hanging on the walls at about one every ten doors. The walls in this hallway were so rundown; it looked like a building that needed demolition. Mario was beside himself. Where was he, exactly? A dream! Of course! Mario told himself. He just needs to wake himself up and finish the bathroom. He pinched himself, still nothing but the sound of water dripping and echoing through the hallway. This time he tried slapping himself, and as he did he heard a loud squeak and a pattering of claws behind him. He spun around just in time to see something red blitz through his legs and head down the hall. As it ran underneath the torchlight Mario could make out a rat carrying his hat! “Hey-a! Get-a back-a here, you little bastard!” Mario cried out after the rat as he chased it down the hall. He chased it for what seemed like fifty doors before it dashed into one that was cracked open. Behind this door Mario could hear hundreds of little claws shuffling around and hundreds of rats squeaking. Normally, Mario would not have been so determined to chase down his hat, however he was holding out hope he’d figure out what’s going on, as well. Something moved unnoticed in the distance down the hall as Mario pushed open the door the rat ran into. To no surprise he found a room PACKED with rats of all shapes and sizes, and in the back stood a silhouette of a human. “Welcome... to my new lair!” it shouted in a maniacal voice. “And just who’s-a lair is this?” asked the plumber, peering in. The shadow stepped further into the light revealing his figure and the many wrappings around his body. “The Rat King, of course.”